Police Helicopter crashes in Turkey killing all people on board

April 19, 2017

A police helicopter with 12 people on board crashed in the eastern province of Tunceli, Turkey just 10 minutes after taking off from the town of Pulumur on 18 April.

The helicopter was carrying a judge, seven police officers, one sergeant and three crew members. All of them died in the accident.

According to the governor’s office, the Sikorsky S-70 Blackhawk helicopter crashed due to poor weather conditions in the mountainous region. No signals were received from the helicopter approximately 10 minutes after it took off.

Despite heavy fog, the rescue operation team commanded by the army found the bodies of the passengers and crew members. The Turkish Air Force also dispatched a CN235 type aircraft to detect the location of the debris.

Villagers saw that the helicopter struggled to stay on air a few times but it failed in the end. They said the helicopter went off the radar after losing control.